


Summer Songs

by The_Shadow



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Beaches, Collections - Freeform, Contest, Dancing, Drabbles, F/M, Inspired by Music, Leaky Cauldron, Love, Original side characters, Summer, motorcycle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24835129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Shadow/pseuds/The_Shadow
Summary: A collection of one-shots, each inspired by a different summer song. Pairings and tags to be added. Warnings have been fixed.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks/Charlie Weasley, Parvati Patil/Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Beach Baby (Charlie/Tonks)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a challenge to myself (that I decided on three days ago). My goal is to:
> 
> *Write one one-shot every week for the summer based off a summer song.  
> *Try out mostly new pairings.  
> *Keep them lighthearted and clean
> 
> All these are subject to change (I know I'm probably going to break the second rule once). Love and War comes first, so I might slip on my every Saturday schedule.
> 
> Also, just due to the nature of this, it's largely going to be free writing. I only have two other songs planned and only one other pairing. So if you have any suggestions for pairings and/or songs, do not be shy! Note that pairings do not have to be het.
> 
> I'll put the pairings in the chapter title.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!

Inspired by "Beach Baby", by The First Class

Charlie Weasley watched on as Jamie Dennis tried and failed to make it with any of Fleur’s bridesmaids. Drink in hand and speech finished, Charlie’s role as Bill’s best man was finished. He was more than happy to sit back and watch his best mate make a fool of himself.

“Charlie!” a familiar voice cried from behind him as he was pulled into a hug. A moment later, the bright face of Tonks was smiling warmly at him.

Taking the seat beside him, she said, “Long time no see.”

They clinked bottles.

“Too long, Tonks. Or Lupin.” She written him constantly about the man, even invited him to their secret wedding, but he couldn’t get away at hatching time.

“Both actually. Tonks Lupin. Remus says I married him just to get rid of my name.” Fixing him with a lopsided smile, resting her head on her hand, she said, “It really is good to have you back.”

“Barely feels like I left.” It had been years since they’d been together and he didn’t think they’d failed to owl each other once a week in that time.

“Do you ever think about it?” she asked.

“Sometimes,” he admitted.

“And Charlie Weasley has the snitch!” The announcer’s voice boomed over the courtyard. “Gryffindor wins!”

Anything else she might have said was drowned out by the deafening cheers from three houses. Slytherin, at long last, had finally been taken down. Even if Gryffindor didn’t win the tournament, at least the snakes wouldn’t either.

Floating triumphantly back down to the pitch, it took him ages to make it back to the showers. So many people wanted to shake his hand or hug him or cheer him on.

“And the man of the hour, the spirit of the sky, Mr. Charlie Weasley!” Jamie threw his arm around him and pretending to hold a microphone to his face. Charlie shoved his best friend off.

“I’m going to take a shower, that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to smell for the party. None of the birds will want to cozy up to you even if you are a hero.”

“Party?”

Jamie rolled his eyes.

“Mate, you just knock Slytherin out of the championship. There’s going to be a party” Grinning, he added, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she’s invited.”

“Tonks doesn’t want to come.” She was one of the few people he _hadn’t_ seen on the pitch after the game.

“Awww,” Jamie said, making puppy dog eyes at him. “Are you bummed out because the love of your life didn’t give you a kiss in your moment of glory.”

He clapped Charlie on the back. “Sulk if you want, but hurry up. You don’t want to miss your own party.

The Gryffindor tower Charlie arrived at was packed wall to wall with people, to the point he doubted even McGonagall would have tolerated it, if she knew. Charlie smiled. No doubt prim and proper  McGonagall had let her competitive streak get the better of  her and she was down at the Three Broomsticks  celebrating. 

He pushed his through the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and even a few Slytherins to the center of the common room. Jamie was holding court with the rest of team, leading the bragging to anyone who would listen about their skills.

“And look who finally turned up!” he shouted. A bottle of butterbeer was pressed into Charlie’s hand.

He scanned the room, absentmindedly thanking the people who came up to congratulate him.

He felt an arm around his shoulder again.

“Don’t just stand around, you great lump,” Jamie said. “This  is a party.  Enjoy yourself.”

He whispered in his ear. “She’s over there in the corner.”

Jamie nodded and Charlie followed his gaze. Tonks, sporting a teal pony tail, was laughing with a group of Hufflepuffs.

“I’m not going to tell you how to live your life…” At Charlie’s expression, he added, “today, but if you’re going to do anything about it, I’d do it before someone else does.”

A boy Charlie didn’t know was leaning against the wall next to Tonks, who was giggling at whatever he was saying.

Jamie pressed another bottle into his hand. “Lady needs a drink, I reckon. Act like a Gryffindor for a change.”

Charlie was nearly knocked from his feet by the force of his friends push. Recovering, he maneuvered through the make shift dance floor, until he got them.

“So I was thinking-” the boy was say, but as soon as she saw him, Tonks bounced up and threw her arms around him.

“You were amazing!”

Charlie couldn’t help feeling smug at the expression of annoyance that crept over the boys face. But he wasn’t going to dwell on it. Not when he had Tonks’ attention.

“Want a drink?” he asked, handing her one of the bottles.

“A drink’s good. Dancing would be better.” She made a show of batting her eyelashes at him. “Come on! Ask me to dance?”

Charlie snorted. Why had this been so difficult for him?

“Do you want to dance, Tonks?”

“Love to.” She took his bottle and handing both of them to the boy.

“Would you mind holding these?” she asked. “Thanks! See you around, Jason.”

Someone with a radio was playing The Weird Sisters the way it was meant to be played: loud. Tall and lanky, Charlie had never been much of a dancer, but if Tonks noticed she didn’t make a fuss about it, bopping away while her partner did his best to keep up.

“Want a break?” He asked after the fourth song.

“Alright.” Tonk took his arm and the pushed back through the crowd, finding a quiet place on the staircase up to the dorms.

This was perfect. And there was only one way it could be better. Jamie caught his eye and flashed him the thumbs up.

“You know,” Charlie said, trying to sound casual, “there’s another dance coming up.”

“ Yeah?” She could act coy  about it all she wanted, but ever since Dumbledore had announced they were bringing back the Celestial  Ball , it was all anybody wanted to talk about.

“Are you going?” He asked.

“Maybe. If the right person asks me.”

She looked up at him. Well, it that wasn’t a big enough hint for him, then what was?

“Tonks, do you want to go with the Celestial Ball with me.”

Kissing his cheek, she whispered in his ear, “Thought you’d never ask.”

Charlie combed his fair for what have must have been the seventh time as he scrutinized his appearance.

“Stare all you want,” Jamie said, “you can’t cure ugly.”

Charlie punched him in the arm.

“Oi! Don’t kill the messenger. Lucky for you Tonks is blind or something.”

He ignored his friend, checking his new robes one last time (he promised!). A dark green, it had been difficult to find something that didn’t clash horribly with his shock of red hair. And that he could afford on his pay from the school store. It was the good fortune of many a poor Hogwarts student that Gladrags had put most of their stock on sale in the weeks leading up to the ball.

“Don’t you have anything you could be doing,” he asked Jamie. He was ready.

Jamie looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go pick up Scarlett. Want to come? We can swing by Hufflepuff on the way.

Charlie shook his head. “I’m meeting Tonks there.”

“Good luck, then. Don’t make a fool of yourself without me there to see.”

Charlie grinned. “How can I? You’re the one with all the daft ideas.”

Wishing each other luck, they went their separate ways. Charlie walked with a spring in his step. Tonight was going to be perfect.

The Great Hall had been converted, the long tables taken away and replaced with small round ones. The glass windows had been covered with dark blue curtains, though the hordes of candles still floated above them, giving the hall an almost dreamlike atmosphere.

The Ball had already started, music blaring as he approached. He stopped at the entrance and stared in shock.

He’d known Tonks since they were ickle firsties and in that time, he thought he’d seen everything. Spikes, curls, bobs, mohawks, every color of the rainbow-even an actual rainbow. Boots, leather jackets, t-shirts, suspenders, vests. Everything.

But he’d never seen her in dress and heels. But there she was, looking like something out of a painting in a soft, pink dress and matching hair that cascaded down her shoulders.

She was talking to Prof. Flitwick and hadn’t noticed him. Good. It gave him time to compose himself.

Screwing up his courage, he summoned all the confidence he could muster and joined.

“Hey,” he said, wishing he could have thought of something better.

“Hey.” Tonks was always smiling. It was the first thing he noticed her. But this wasn’t her normal, bubbly, high on life smile. Nor was it her teasing smile, when she or Jamie or usually both talked him into another one of their schemes. No. If Charlie didn’t know her better, he’d have almost said it was shy.

He held out his had for her to take. “I think they’re playing our song.”

“Yeah?” She took it, lacing her fingers in his. “What song’s that?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Hand-in-hand, they took their place on the dance floor.

It was surreal, a night that went by in a blissful haze, yet one that he knew would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life. He and Tonks barely left the dance floor, stopping only to get punch or a quick bite, before rushing back.

Maybe it was for Christmas or maybe someone up there just liked him, because the band Dumbledore had hired to play played far more slow songs than fast ones. Charlie got to enjoy the feeling of Tonks pressed against him, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck.

The dance was only supposed to go until ten, but some magic or maybe Peeves must have stopped all the clocks in Hogwarts, because it was well after midnight before the professors finally shooed them all out.

Humming a particularly catchy song, Tonks squeezed Charlie’s hand as he walked her back down to Hufflepuff house. They walked slowly, not caring of Filch threats to “hang the lot of them by their ankles” if he caught them out.

It _had_ been a perfect night. Well, almost. As they reached the stack of barrels that marked the entrance to Badger’s basement, Charlie knew there was just more thing they had to do.

“Well, here we are.” Tonks said. She looked up at him, still not letting go of his hand.

Charlie didn’t know when it happened. The exact point he went from thinking about it to actually doing it. He didn’t even know who actually started it. One second they were staring into each other’s eyes, the next their lips had met, Tonks’ hands were on his cheeks and he was pushing her against the castle’s stone wall.

Charlie found himself in an explosion of sensation. Tonks pinned between him and the wall,  her fingers running through her hair. The feel of her dress as his hands ran down her body. The smell of her perfume.

They were both panting when they finally broke off the kiss.

“Wow…” Tonks said. They stared long, nestled in their little corner of heaven.

“We should really go to bed,” Tonks said. But it didn’t stop her from pulling him back to her.

They inched closer and closer to the entrance, stopping to agree with each other that they really should say goodnight, before going at it again. In the end, only the arrival of the Fat Friar tore them from each other’s arms.

“Night,” Tonks said.

“ Good night.” He hesitated, but as sure as he was, he still had to  hear it from her. “Are we…?”

Tonks snickered. “We’d better be. Now go!”

Humming Tonks’ tune, Charlie made his way back to Gryffindor Tower.

And just like that, he had a girlfriend.

Of course, leave it to Charlie Weasley to get a girlfriend just before hols when he couldn’t see her for a month.

_Quality thinking, that, Weasley._

Tonks lived in Brixton and he was from Devon. Not exactly a stroll down the street.

His plan had been to tell his parents when he got back, but the news got home before he did (he was going to kill Fred and George. Maybe Percy too).

At the very least, his parents had restrained themselves from grilling him until after they got in the car.

It was a long ride back after that.

Then the letter came. The first morning after they got back, they were eating  breakfast when post owl came. Tearing open the official looking letter, Charlie whooped with joy.

_Pending your N.E.W.T. results, we are pleased to invite you to the International Dragon Reserve. Please report to Bucharest by no later than September 30_ _th_.

He didn’t get any further than that.

He was treated a celebration that night bigger than the day he was named prefect. Even his mum pretended to be unconditionally pleased, though he knew she would rather get dragon pox than have any one of her children living so far away.

It was only after he realized that it would mean moving away from Tonks.

He spent the next several days holed up in his room, trying to decide what to do. He could turn them down. Yeah, and give up his life long dream. He could go into quidditch, but that was just for fun. He never wanted to make a career of it.

What if Tonks came with him? That was at least more realistic. But she was applying to join the aurors. He couldn’t ask her to give up her dream any more than he’d give up us.

Maybe they’d turn her down. He hated how hopeful that possibility made him.

By the time Tonks invited him over for New Years, he decided to wait to tell her the news. Not forever, he told himself. Just until they had some time together. Pretty poor way to start a relationship, that, finding out your boyfriend was leaving the country.

He’d tell her eventually. When the time was right.

He still hadn’t told her when the idea came to him one sunny day as the year drew to a close. It used to be traditional for witches and wizards to take a year off to explore before settling into their jobs. Well, he couldn’t take a year off, but he could certainly take the summer.

He’d take Tonks somewhere. Somewhere where they could be alone, without their friends hanging around or ther families checking up on them. The only question was where.

Tonks was a bit put out when he told her he’d have to meet her late their next Hogsmeade weekend, but it would be worth in the end. Once he’d found the perfect vacation spot.

He made a beeline to the bookstore as soon as they were allowed out. Grabbing as many travel books as he could carry, he found a seat in the corner. He poured over them until he found the spot. A beach in Wales, a wizarding one, near Llangennith. From what the guide book set, it was basically deserted most of the year. But once the summer came, people flocked from all over the country to camp out.

Surfing. The ocean. And three months of time alone with Tonks. It was perfect.

 _If_ he could convince her to go.

She was sitting with a group of Hufflepuffs. Upon seeing him, she said goodbye to them and joined him at an empty booth.

“Hey,” she said, giving him a quick peck. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“Yeah, I got done early.”

“I’m glad. So are you going to tell me what was so important I had to walk all by myself here?” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Actually, yes.” He took her hand. “I’ve been thinking. About this summer.

For a moment, he thought she looked sad, but the expression was gone as soon as he saw it.

He continued, “I found this beach in Wales were people camp all summer. I figured it would a good celebration, you know? For graduation.”

And the last of their time together before he left. He should tell her.

But he didn’t.

“Three months doing nothing but sunning myself on the beach with my dishy boyfriend? Can’t say I see the appeal.” She winked at him. “Of course, I’ll go. It’ll make a nice...celebration. When do we leave?”

“Right after graduation. I’ll talk to dad about borrowing the car, so all you’ve got to do is apparate to the Burrow.”

They made their plans over butterbeer, talking about all the nothing they planned to do.

He’d tell her before they left, he promised himself.

Despite her threat/promise, Tonks did not show up at the Burrowin her bikini, a fact that both relieved and vexed Charlie. His mum was already unhappy with the idea of her son and his girlfriend camping on a beach for three months alone, he didn’t need Tonks showing up-in Mrs. Weasley’s words-like a “scarlet woman”.

Still. Tonks in a bikini. That would be a sight to see.

Not that what Tonks actually wore was much more modest. Clad in cut off blue jeans and blouse tied off at the bottom, Charlie didn’t need much imagination.

“Wotcher!” she greeted him with a peck on the cheek. Charlie had to shoo away Fred and George before he opened the door. “Already to go?”

“Yeah. Got your stuff?”

Tonks lifted the bag she was holding. “Yep.”

Charlie took the bag for her and, putting his arm around her waist so she’d come with him and not be gawked at, loaded it into his dad’s Ford Anglia.

It had taken months of convincing, negotiating and, when all else failed, shameless pleading to convince his dad to let him take the car with them to the beach. In return, he’d had to come home on weekends to do whatever mountain of chores they left for him. This on top of his classes, quidditch practice and job. _And_ he had to get a job while he was there.

Sneeking a peak at Tonks…. Yeah. It was worth it.

“Gonna say goodbye?” Tonks asked.

“Already did.” He opened the door for her.

She waggled her eyebrows at him. “Eager to get me alone, are we?”

She whispered in his ear, “I didn’t pack a sleeping bag. Not enough room. Whatever will I do?”

Charlie couldn’t get into the car fast enough.

They took the scenic route to Wales. Tonks snuggled up to him and Charlie kept his arm around her the whole three and an half hour drive.

The beach was already crowded by the time the got there, the sun high in the sky. Some people from Hogwarts waved at them, but most of the people there were strangers.

“What now?” Tonks asked.

“We’d better get a spot to put up the tent.”

Tents of all shapes and sizes dotted the beach already and there was a real danger of, if not finding a spot at all, then at the very least being stuck in a rubbish one.

Tent tossed over his shoulder, Charlie walked hand-in-hand with Tonks until they found a promising spot, not too far from the sea or the makeshift community center that had formed.

It took them a few tries to pitch the tent until Tonks sheepishly let Charlie handle it.

It was a standard tent, if large. Charlie had asked Perkins if he could borrow his charmed tent, but he was going to be out on the continent.

Not the size bothered him.

“Cozy, eh?” Tonks squeezed his hand.

Their claim staked, they returned to the car to get their bags and before long, their home for the next three months was ready.

Tonks went off in search of drinks from a bar they passed on the way, their first since coming of age. Charlie set out their towels and was soaking up the afternoon sun when she came back.

“What’s this?” He asked, taking the drinking she handed him.

“They said it was called a pina colada. I’ve never had one.”

“Me neither.” It tasted like coconut, pineapple and more alcohol than he would have thought possible.

“Not bad,” Tonks said. She set her drink down and stripped off her clothes, revealing the red and white striped bikini underneath.

Charlie snickered.

“What?”

“Was peppermint candy the look you were going for?”

“Hmph!” Tonks stuck her nose in the air. “Well if you don’t like it, I’ll go change.”

She took a step back towards the tent, tripped and fell, landing perfectly on his chest.

“You did that one on purpose.”

“Maybe” She was looking like the cat that swallowed the pixie. “Whatcha gonna do about it?”

“Hmm…” He rolled over on top of her, pinning her beneath him.

He was vaguely aware of people hollering at them as they kissed, but nothing was going to distract him from this.

When they’d satisfied themselves at least for the time being, they cuddled together, enjoying the warm sun mixed with the cool breeze. There drinks were long forgotten.

“Whatever are we going to do all summer?” Tonks asked. “Because I could do this forever.”

Charlie smiled, then groaned.

“My dad said I had to get a job to help pay for borrowing the car.

Tonks scowled. “Mine too.”

That answered one of the questions Charlie had in the back of his mind. Whether or not she’d told her parents where she was going. He wouldn’t have exactly died of shock to find out she’d just told them she’d be staying with friends or something.

“Tomorrow,” she declared. “I’m too comfy.”

Somewhere in the midst of their relaxation, they fell asleep. When Charlie woke, the sun was setting and Tonks was still asleep. He nudged her through her whining, she woke up stretching.

“What was that for?”

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said. It was time to tell her. This wasn’t fair to her.

“Alright.”

They walked down the beach as the last light of day faded from view. Even then, Charlie stalled, telling him he should at least find a private bit of beach before he broke the news.

Just when he couldn’t take not telling her anymore, Tonks pulled away from his arm.

“I can’t do this,” Tonks said. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the ground.

“What’s wrong?” He reached out to hold her, but faltered.

“I haven’t been honest with you. I’ve…” she finally met his eye. “Look, I’ve been accepted into the aurors.”

“Really?” Was that all? “That’s great!”

“Yeah, except it’s a three year program and I’ll never get to see you!”

Oh. Charlie blinked. Then he laughed.

“Oi! What’s so funny?” Her hands were on her hips as she glared at him.

“I’m going to Romania in September. I got a job on a dragon reserve. I just didn’t know how to tell you.

Tonks blinked. Then _she_ laughed, making Charlie break down again.

“So this is it, then?” Tonks said once they’d composed themselves. “We’re not going to be together after this summer?”

“We could try to make it work. Commute on our days off, that sort of thing.” Even as he said it, he knew it was a long shot.

“We could. I don’t want to think about it, honestly,” she said decisively. “Let’s just enjoy ourselves while we can.

She traced a circle on his chest. “You know, make some memories.”

He raised his eyebrows at her playful expression. He pulled her into his arms and they sank together to the sand below.

“We should go back to the tent,” Charlie said between kisses.

“Too far.” Tonks said. And pinned beneath her, Charlie really wasn’t in a _position_ to argue.

The two of them found jobs quickly enough. The beach’s bar needed as many hands on deck as they could get and hired the two of them almost on the spot. It wasn’t hard work. Most of the customers didn’t bother with anything fancy and bought whatever was on tap.

They worked nights, not something Charlie would have chosen given the options. But as the days passed and they got up later and later, it didn’t bother him so much. They still had plenty of alone time after work to walk or, more often, head back to their tent and their single sleeping bag. On the days they didn’t work they would drink on the beach.

On the third day after arriving, Tonks announced that she was going to learn how to surf. Charlie watched from the shore with amusement. Tonks wasn’t anymore coordinated or balanced on water than she was on landed and watching her tumble over and over again into the water never stopped being funny.

Tired of getting mocked, she’d dared him to try it himself. It didn’t take him more than a couple of tries, much to his girlfriend’s chagrin. But that was alright, it just gave him an excuse to get her on the board with and in his arms under the guise of teaching her.

That summer seemed to last forever and it was the best time of his life.

“Wish me luck,” Tonks said, her arms around his neck.

Charlie gave her a quick peck.

“That’s for luck.”

“And this so don’t forget to writ me every week.” Tonks gave him a long, slow, deep kiss. The best she’d ever given him, he thought. The kiss of his life.

It was late September and they were in London and she was about to take the underground to the Ministry to be sent to Merlin knew where for training.

“Like I would.”

He taken her out to lunch as a celebration and a last goodbye until they could see each other again. He’d be busy himself, packing and making the last arrangements to go to Romania.

They’d make it work long-distance, they agreed as the summer drew to a close. They didn’t know when either of them would get off or what kind of contact Tonks would be allowed to have, but they’d write each other every week and, as soon as the possibly could, they would see each other in person. Whatever it took.

The announcement that the train would be leaving soon pulled them from each other. Charlie helped Tonks with her bag and walked with her on the train.

“I mean it,” she said. “I’ll be an auror soon. I can hunt you down if you forget me!”

She winked and they waved goodbye to each other through the window as the train pulled away.

Charlie watched until she disappeared in the distance.

It really had been perfect.

“Let’s dance,” Tonks said, suddenly, hopping up and pulling him out of his reverie. “For old time’s sake.”

Charlie downed the drink. He wasn’t any better a dancer than he was all those years ago.

“Why not?”

He followed her to the dance floor. They were still the best of friends after all these years.

It would be something to remember.


	2. Best Song Ever (Harry/Parvati)

"Best Song Ever"- Megan Nicole

Parvati took her drink of her malibu sunrise as she considered her options. She was at the Leaky Cauldron and she was running out of time.

She’d been looking forward to this night ever since Lavender had flooed to tell her. Two free tickets to the Quidditch World Cup and all she had to do was win a dance contest. She didn’t even have to be a good dancer-though she was. It was called Dance ‘Til You Drop. All she had to do was be the last witch standing. Her and her partner.

Could she win? She didn’t know. But what did she have to lose?

She had immediately flooed Seamus to ask him. Sure, he could be a prat, but he loved Quidditch and she knew from first hand experience that he had plenty of energy. All it had taken to convince him was the promise of the ticket.

And yet she found herself sitting alone while the people around her were downing pepper up potions like shots of tequila in preparation.

Seamus, like a prat, had backed out at the last minute. She’d gotten the owl just before she left.

Lavender had dragged her along anyway. It wasn’t too late, she’d told her. She could still find a partner. Someone at the bar.

She scanned the crowd, looking for a suitable replacement. She wasn’t fussy, not really. It was only one night. But if she was going to be stuck with them at the match, she’d at least like it to be someone nice to look at.

And then he walked in. Followed shortly by Ron and Dean, Harry Potter looked much the same as he did the last time she’d seen him. Messy black hair and dreamy green eyes. Auror training had done him good. _Nice arms there, Potter,_ she thought. Talk about easy on the eyes.

_And_ he owed her.

She waved at him, motioning over. He waved politely back, before following his friends to a booth.

Well, that wouldn’t do.  She downed the last of her drink and followed.

“Hey!” She said to her old Gryffindor housemates. “Isn’t this a nice reunion? Harry, can I word with you? Brilliant!”

She grabbed him by his delightfully firm arm, dragging him along with her before he had a chance to object.

“Is everything alright?”  He asked.

The couples were taking their places on the floor.

“I need your help. You know what’s happening here tonight.”

“Some sort of dance?” he asked.

She nodded. “For tickets to the World Cup. And you’re going to help me. Seamus stood me up and I need a partner.”

“I’m sorry, Parvati. I’m not much of a dancer.”

He started to pull away.  Parvati latched on to him.  _Not so fast, hero boy._

“You don’t need to be good, you just need to keep dancing.”

“Ron and  Dean -”

“You owe me.” It was her Hail Mary.

Harry brow furled. “For what?”

“The Yule Ball.”

Hands on her hips, she stared him down.

“Are you really holding a bad date form six years ago against me?”

“If it will get you to dance with me, then yes. I figure this will make us even.” At his glare, she added, “it’s two tickets. I only need one.”

“I’m Harry Potter. I’m thinking I can get tickets if I really want.”

_Confidence isn’t a bad look on you._

“True, but then you wouldn’t get to say you won them. Come on, it’ll be fun!”

He looked over his shoulders back at Ron and  Dean . They gave him questioning looks. Parvati crossed her  fingers behind her back. Finally Harry shrugged and Parvati mentally punched the air. She pasted on her game face before Harry turned around.

Sighing, he asked, “So what do I have to do.”

“Just keep dancing. Last couple standing wins.”

The announcer’s booming voice told them that the competition was about to begin.

“Look, I’m not promising to go all out, but I suppose I can dance for a little bit.”

“Brilliant,” she said again. She’d keep stalling him as long as she could. All night if she had too. Those tickets were good as hers. “Just follow my lead.”

And the contest began. The first dance was dance was fast. True to his, Harry was a terrible dancer.  She barely contained her laughter and even her smirk was enough to irritate him.

“I can go.”

She took his hands. “Not now you can’t. Don’t be so nervous. Just think of it as a crash course.”

Harry grumbled. “We could just hex them.”

She took the lead and to her partner’s credit, he didn’t resist. And as they continued, he loosened up. Little by little.

It took until the fifth dance before his friends came to track him down.

“Mate,”  Ron said, pushing his way through the crowd. “What gives? You ditched us.”

Harry looked his friend and her.  
“Got a better offer.” Parvati’s heart fluttered. He jerked his head at her. “I’m helping Parvati out. I’ll be done soon.”

“No, he won’t.”  
“Right,” Ron said uncertainly. “I’ll leave you to it then?”

“Be a dear and get us some pepper up potions.”

The contest as merciless, playing fast song after fast song and every song  as people dropped out. One couple even gave up halfway through the first dance.

“Pace yourself,” she whispered to Harry. He was losing steam.  She slowed them down to a light trot.

“So what have you been up too?” he asked.

“What?” He’d been basically silent the whole time, much like he’d been all those years ago. She’d been expecting more of the same.

He shrugged. “I just figured if we’re going to be here all night, we might as well talk. This is is supposed to make up for thing, apparently.”

_This is a nice change._

“I work in a shop. It’s nothing special, but it’s nice. And you?”

Not that she didn’t know. She read the gossip columns, shameless as she was.  But she wanted to hear it from him.

“Not much. We spent a year hunting down the rest of the Death Eaters. Then I finished my last year at Hogwarts.”

“And now?”

“I’m taking a year off. Trying to decide what to do with my life, you know.”

Parvati was interrupted by answering when the announcer declared they were giving the remaining contestants a break by playing a slow dance. To her delight, Harry took her into her arms, his hands sliding down to the small of her back.

_Oh my yes_ , she thought, wrapping her arms around her neck.  _Very nice._

“You don’t want to be an auror anymore.”

“I think,” he said, pausing to choose his words, “I’ve had quite enough fighting for one life.”

“Quidditch, then?” she asked.

“Too many people.”

“So what are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. You tell me. What do you think? You always loved Divination. What do you see the “Boy Who Lived”?”

“Hmm.”  That was a good question. “Something quiet obviously.”

She giggled.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said, smiling to herself. “Just thinking about you waiting tables or something. ‘Hello, my name’s Harry Potter. I killed Voldemort. Can I take your order?’”

Harry laugh. A genuine laugh, one she’d seen so very rarely from the boy she knew.

“That is pretty funny.”

She could have kissed him then.

Their break didn’t last long. As soon as the song was over, the songs they played got louder and louder and faster and faster. Couples were dropping out right and left. A crowd, who’d been mostly uninterested, had formed around them cheering on this couple or that.

“You go, Parvati!” cheered on Lavender, her voice breathy. She must still be exhausted from her attempt.

Soon they were there was only one other couple left. Parvati became aware of her body. Her legs were aching and her feet were killing her.

“Keep going,” he whispered. He sounded as tired as she felt. “We’re almost there.”

But every second felt like ages. She stumbled, only just barely managing to keep her footing. How Harry was still going, she didn’t know.

_I guess fighting dark wizards does a body good._

“We have a winner!” Parvati’s head jerked to side. The final couple had collapsed to the floor.

_We_ _did it. We_ _won_ , she thought, following her opponents to the floor. Harry slid to the floor beside her, putting his arm around her. Still trying to cat ch her breath, she rested her head on his shoulder. She hoped Harry was good with sitting there forever, because she wouldn’t be able to walk for at least a month.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the announcer. Crouching down beside them, her  _sonorous_ voice stinging her ears. “This is exciting news. Our winner is none other than Harry Potter and his lovely partner…”

“Parvati Patil,” she answered.

“Parvati Patil! This lovely couple will be going to the Quidditch world cup!”

The cheers were deafening as Harry helped her up and, arm still around her, pushed them through the crowd.

Tickets now in hand, they walked down the street of Diagon Alley.

“That was fun,” he said.

“Took you long enough,” she teased.  She tried to hand him his ticket, but he shook his head.

“I already told you. I can get my own. Take someone you like.”

_That’s what I’m trying to do, ponce._

She shrugged. “I’ll think of someone. Good night, Harry.”

She turned away, heading back to her flat. But Harry stopped her.

“Wait!” Parvati turned around, raising her eyebrows at Harry.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked like he was still unsure of what to say.

“Is there any chance we could, you know...go somewhere else?”

“Not a chance,” she said. He really was cute.

“Oh. Right.”

“At least not to tonight. We’ll see after we go to the World Cup.” She waggled her two tickets in front of his face.

Harry, who had been doing his best to to look cool about it, couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on his face. Neither could see.

Some people were worth a second chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally meant to be a Sirius/Remus story, but it wasn't quite coming along. So I went with this instead. Maybe next week.
> 
> Before I settled on Harry/Pansy as my favorite ship, Parvati was one I looked for. Sadly, there's still too few. So here's my contribution to the cause.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Summertime Blues (Remus/Sirius)

"Summertime Blues", by Joan Jett

“So you’re idea is what again?”

Remus was leaning against the wall of the potter’s garage Easter hols their sixth year. James was up in his room, no doubt working on his scheme to make Lily Evans fall madly in love with him. Peter was in the Potter’s kitchen, do his part to hunt Britain’s chocolate frog population into extinction. That left Remus to hang out with Sirius, who in the middle of another modding spree on his beloved motor bike.

“I’m going a road trip.” Sirius said from somewhere underneath the bike. “Mallorca. Tenerife. Lido de Benezia. An international tour of all of Europe’s finest nude beaches.”

“Uh huh.” Setting aside the question of why, specifically, nude beaches, he continued. “And you do know that there’s no bridge or anything to the continent right?”

“I am aware.”

“So you can’t take Sasha with you?” Remus wasn’t in the mood to try an explain to his boyfriend the difference between a ferry and a fairy.

“Taking care that problem right now, buddy! I’ve been owling Arthur Weasley…”

_Oh Merlin._

“This baby is gonna fly!”

“You’re gonna get arrested,” Remus said.

“Will not!”

“Will too!”

“10 galleons says I won’t!” said Sirius. He still hadn’t emerged from his work,

“You’re on.”

Despite  knowing what wonderfully, awful idea this was and how likely any tinkering of Weasley’s was likely to go astray, he couldn’t help but be curious about what Sirius was doing.

“How’s it going to work anyway?” He asked.

“Hang on a tic.” Sirius finished fiddling with whatever he was doing and climb out from under the vehicle. He long hair, messy at the best of times, was positively wild. He face, as well as his tight t-shirt, was streaked and splotched with oil and grease.

“You almost look like Snivellus,” Lupin said, snickering and trying not be distracted by Sirius.

“ Oi, keep it  civil !” He pretended to retch.

“Here,” Remus said, clearing off his boyfriend’s person. “There. At least you can get inside the manor without Mrs. Potter murdering you.”

“Thanks.” He slapped Remus on the arse, earning a blush from the werewolf.

“So what is it your doing?” He wasn’t going to let Sirius get him going. Not now. Not with so many people who could walk in on them.

Sirius pointed at a button near the accelerator. “That’s the invisibility booster. Once I press that, Sasha will take off  _and_ turn invisible.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“ And what about you?” Remus asked.

“What about me?”

“Does it turn  _you_ invisible?”

“No,” Sirius said, looking at Remus like he’d sprouted a third arm. “Why wold it?”

Remus just shook his head  and sighed.

“Nothing, Sirius.” He’d figured it out eventually.

He left, just in case stupidity was contagious.

Just in case.

The first major roadblock to Sirius’s plan came the night they got back to Hogwarts. The Potters had invited the marauders to stay the night and go out to dinner with them before they went their separate ways for the summer.

After they cursory questions about school, the Potters asked what everyone was planning on doing. That’s when Sirius announce his scheme and he told them with  the confidence of a man who hadn’t even considered the idea that his new adopted parents would have objections to him going on, to use his words, “an international tour of Europe’s finest nude beaches.”

At first, Remus thought the Potters were going to let than one slide. At least until they got home. The Potters weren’t normally the type to have that kind of discussion in public.

But apparently the audacity of his plan was enough to make them ignore the rules of good society.

“A job!” Sirius raged through at Remus through the mirror.

“Heard you the first, Sirius.”

But his boyfriend continued fuming as though he hadn’t heard him.

“Can you believe that? They want me to get a job!”

“ Well, it’s not the worst idea in the world. You-”

“But  what about  our vacation!” Sirius whined. He was still going about the beaches.

Remus was snickering by the end of his rant, quite certain the boy was at least partially putting on a show for his benefit.

_Not the kind of show you wanted_ a voice in the back of his head said, his mind flashing back to Sirius in a tight shirt.

“Oi! What’s so funny?”

“You, you ponce,” Remus said. “You want cheese with the whine.”  
If looks could avada…

“And what’s this about our vacation?”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Well, of course you’re coming. Why do you think I’m doing this.”

“If I could hazard a guess, it’s because you’re a horn dog who wants to see people naked.”

“Well, that too.” He looked wistful.

“But I hear that they’re more liberal about that sort of thing. And even if they’re not.” He shrugged. “Who cares? It’s not like anyone in France knows who we are anyway.”

Remus considered the idea. It was well-thought out. Well, for his boyfriend anyway.

They hadn’t told anyone that they were together. Not even James and Peter. Not that they didn’t trust them. But Peter couldn’t always reliably keep his mouth shut and it didn’t seem fair to not tell both of them. So they were left sneaking out to Astronomy Tower, usually when James had quidditch practice or detention. It wasn’t a lot, but it was the best they could manage.

“Look,” Remus said, before  he got his hopes up on something that wasn’t going to happen anyway . “Look at it this way. So you can’t spen d your entire vacation ogling  people , but at least this way you can  save a little money up before you go.”

Sirius stroked his scruffy beard, lost in thought.

“Yeah, didn’t think about that, did you, Padfoot. How was that going to go? ‘Hey, babe. I’m Sirius. Buy me drink? And I’m broke, so we’re going to have to go back to your place.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” He grumbled. “ So it wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. Fine, I’ll get a job. Now what can I do for money. Something I won’t have to work too hard at, obviously.”

The  job hunt for Sirius did not  get off to a great start. Whether that because Sirius was legitimately having trouble finding a job or if he was deliberately only going through the motions of looking to placate his adopted parents, Remus couldn’t save for sure. He just knew that Sirius wasn’t exactly broken up by the whole affair.

However, when Mr. Potter finally put his foot down and insisted he get job under the threat of losing he bike privileges, he found something quickly enough. And so Remus walked into the shop Sirius was now employed at, a muggle fast  food restaurant that Peter would have loved if he knew about it.

“Hey, Remus,” Sirius waved. “And not a word about the hat.”

Remus snickered at the site of the boy is such a stupid looking uniform. If only he had a camera with him so he could show literally everyone they had ever met ever.

“Hey, Sirius. You about done?”

Sirius had seemed to have taken his idea to save money to heart. And was working more days than not. But that morning he’d mirrored Remus to tell him to goodbye that afternoon so they go riding to a spot where they’d be alone.

“Just about,” Sirius said. “I just gotta go find Chet and-”

“No dice,” said a man, coming up next to him. The shirt and tie in lieu of the ridiculous uniform, as well as the name tag, told Remus that he was Sirius’ boss. “You’re closing tonight. You know that.”

“But-” Sirius started.

“Nope.”

“Can’t you-”

“Not this time,” he said with a shake of his head. “You switched three times on Chet already it’s your turn.”

“But-”

“Leave it, Sirius,” Remus said, before his  boy friends’ mouth could get him into trouble for the something like the one  millionth time. “We’ll go out riding another time.”

He left, waving goodbye over his shoulder.

“Damn it.” It would have been a good time  to have some alone time too .

Knuckled under, it seemed that Sirius was having to spend more and more nights closing for the restaurant.

“‘Get a job,’ you said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ you said.”

“I never once said I thought it would be fun.

The two of them we’re hanging out in Sirius room one afternoon.  Peter was off visiting his family on Avalon and James was trying to perfect his grandfather’s hair care potion on, operating on  the delusion that if his hair was shinier, Lily Evans would like him.

That left the two of them to “hang out”. At least as far as Mr. and Mrs. Potter were concerned.

“When do you have to work next?” Remus asked,  lying next to an equally shirtless Sirius on his bed .

“Today. And every day until Wednesday. I don’t even get the weekend off.”  Sitting up form where he’d been laying on his bed, Sirius was tearing at his hair. “I need to get away from my job, man. Just for one day. I’m cracking up.”

“You’re not cracking up.”

“I’m cracking up, I tell you.” He flipped at his  finger over his lips, blowing a raspberry to prove his point.

“Classy, Padfoot,” Remus said, rolling his eyes. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know, Moony. But I’ll think of something. Just promise to meet me here Sunday, ok? We’re going riding or die trying. I promise”

“Alright.”

“I’m sorry, dear,” Mrs. Potter said when Remus arrived that warm Sunday afternoon. “Poor Sirius has been sick all week. I’m afraid you won’t be able to go out today.”

“Right,” Remus said slowly. There was something about her tone that he didn’t quite trust. “Is he too sick to see anyone or…”

After all, it would have been rude to just take off without at least attempting to see him. Besides, he didn’t want to waste the trip.

“Oh, I think you’ll be alright. Just don’t get into any trouble, alright dear?”

“Of...of course not, Mrs. Potter.”

Definitely dodgy, he thought.

Still, he made his way up the steps to Sirius room. Knocking softly on the door, he said, “Sirius? You ok?”

“Moony,” came the raspy voice of his boyfriend.

“Can I come in?”

“Come in, Moony. Need to...see you..before I die.”

Remus rolled his eyes.

He was ambushed by Sirius immediately upon entry. Hand clamped over his mouth, he was tackled to the ground. He struggled futilely against the strength of his boyfriend.

“Everything alright?” called the voice of Mrs. Potter.

“Everything’s fine!” answered Sirius, dropping the act. “Remus just tripped, ‘cause he’s clumsy.”

“I am not,” Remus growled, though the effect was somewhat lost as Sirius still had a death grip on his face.

“Not a word,” Sirius whispered, releasing the werewolf.

“Pretty spry for a dying man, I see.”

“It was the only way I could out of work. Muggles don’t want you around their food if you’re sick.”

“ _I_ don’t want you around my food if you’re sick. Or on top of me for that matter.”

Sirius glared at him. “I’m not sick. I’m just pretending to be so I can skive off work.”

“So we’re going to hide in your room all day?” Remus asked. There were worse ideas, he thought.

Sirius shook his head. “We’re sneaking out. Mrs. Potter is in the kitchen and Mr. Potter is out golfing, so we should be clear. If we can push the bike out of the garage with her hearing, we can get away before anyone knows we’re gone.

“And when we get back?” Remus asked, knowing good and well his boyfriend hadn’t thought that far ahead.

And, predictably, Sirius waved off his concerns.

“We’ll worry about that when we get back. Now let’s go.”

They made their way through the manor with practiced ease. After all, the Potter home was no Hogwarts and there were no paintings, professors or poltergeists to worry about sounding the alarm. The didn’t even need to transform. It was almost too easy.

Climbing down the back stair and careful not to make a sound as they opened the door from the hall to the garage.

And came smack dab into the face of one Mr. Potter, who apparently had chosen to play golf in the garage without his clubs.

In other life, Remus thought, Mr. Potter might have made an excellent professor, for he certainly had the talent to communicate without the use of words. Sirius, usually at least passable at trying to talk his way out of trouble, even Sirius crumpled under the even, stern stare of the man. Stumbling over his words and half-baked lies, Remus took pity on him and dragged him away from the victorious smirk that had spread over Mr. Potter’s face.

“What is he doing now?” Remus asked.

James had torn himself away from his summer to owl Remus about how Sirius had holed himself up in room for days, only venturing out after dark to forage for food. After Sirius had failed to respond to his letter, Remus flooed over.

“And you’re sure he’s in there?” he asked James as the two of them hovered outside Sirius’ room.

“Hasn’t come out of there for days. Not except for work, obviously. The house elf has been bringing him food.”

“What’s he’s been doing in there?”

James shrugged. “Apparently he’s littered the room with parchment and there’s been a lot of owls coming in an out. Other than that…”

James shrugged again.

It wasn’t a good sign. Sirius _hated_ writing, whined that it gave him cramps. And it wasn’t like he had anyone else to write too. Well, other than Peter and even Sirius’ most elaborate plans didn’t involve Peter being anything other than a look out.”

“And he won’t talk to you?”

“Only to tell me do leave him and his genius alone.”

“You’re sure he said, ‘genius’,” Remus said dryly. He reached for the handled then paused, his mind finally catching on to the implications of James’ claim that Sirius never left his room. “He...he has a bathroom in their right?”

He wasn’t going in there if he didn’t, no matter what James said. The smell alone…

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, bath. Shower everything. You know. Assuming he’s using them.”

“Oh good. Sirius,” he shouted through the door. “We’re coming in!”

“We’re” proved to be an optimistic word, because when the door turned out to be lock and he turned to get James help, the boy had vanished.

“Yeah, sure. Act like a Hufflepuff,” he muttered.

When Sirius didn’t answer, Remus cast Alohamora to unlock the door. It took a couple of tries and even then, he had to use all of his werewolf strength to force the door open.

The room he’d found was nothing he would have expected, not if you had given him lifetime’s worth of crystal balls. The elf hadn’t been lying. If anything, he had undersold the situation. Littered with parchment? At that very moment, Remus wouldn’t have been able to swear that there was a floor. As it was, he made a crunkling sound with every step he took, crushing the balled up pieces of parchment with every step.

 _Who the bloody hell has he been writing to_ , Remus thought.

The boy himself was hunched over his desk, scratching away wildly with quill. So focused on what ever mission he was on, he hadn’t seemed to have noticed Remus coming in.

“Sirius,” he said. He looked up and Remus nearly jumped back in shock. Never the cleanest person known to man, he was in a state he’d never seen in him before. His long hair wild, tangled and matted and his face gaunt and pale from lack of sleep, Remus might have thought he’d been a madman living a cave and living off rats if he hadn’t known better.

“Crikey, Padfoot! Are you still alive.”

“Moony?” Sirius squinted his eyes, as if trying to recognize him.

“It’s me.”

“Brilliant! I’m glad you’re here. Tell me what you think of this.”

He scrambled over, slipping and slidding and nearly falling over his mountain of parchment.

“Here,” he said, shoving the parchment into Remus’ hands.

Remus read it.

Then he read it again, just to be sure he’d read it correctly the first time.

Then he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“Sirius…”

 _Listen here you fucking pricks_ , it read, _you lot in the Wizengamot sit up their in your ivory tower ignoring us down here. I am a Hogwarts student and yet I’m some how not important enough for you to notice. This is supposed to be my summer vacation, but my parents are forcing me to work so I_ _can’t do anything._

_I demand that you write a law so that young men like me can enjoy our lives while we’re_ _still young, before we turn old and crusty like you._

_Love,_

_Sirius Gawain Aart Graham Black III, Esq._

“I know, right” Sirius said. He was nodding enthusiastically. “Pretty damn good, isn’t it? I can’t believe McGonnagall doesn’t recognize my genius.”

“Sirius…” He was shaking his head. “This...this is terrible.”

Sirius made a show of looking put out. “Well, what’s wrong with it?”

“Well to start,” he pointed at the signature. “That isn’t even your real middle name. You don’t even _have_ a middle name! And since when are you an esquire?”

“Oh that? That’s just to make my name sound grander and more Dumbledoreish. But what do you think of the rest of it?”

“I… Sirius, you can’t seriously expect the Wizengamot to take you seriously?” He poked his finger directly into his face. “And I swear to fucking Merlin if you make another name joke I’ll… I’ll hex you.”

Sirius was snickering by the end of his rant.

“So scary, you big, bad wolf, you. And no. That was a joke. I keep trying,” he gestured at parchment around them, “but it isn’t coming out right. I was about to owl you when I heard James saying he was.”

“Uh huh,” Remus said slowly, not quite sure he believed Sirius. But his smile betrayed nothing.

“So you’ll help me?”

Shaking his head again, but smiling, Remus said, “Yeah, I’ll help you. But let’s get this place cleaned up a bit. I can’t work in...this.”

It took the combined efforts of Sirius, Remus and the house elf-along with more scourgifying spells than even Filch ever made them cast-an hour to make the room habitable again. And it took several more hours before the could agree on the wording of the letter.

Remus helped him to humor him and to have an excuse to spend time with him more than he actually believed that some poor intern at the Wizengamot was going do any more than throw it away with the other letters the international government got on a daily basis. At best, maybe somebody would get a good laugh out of it.

And with the job done, Remus and Sirius found other trouble teens might find themselves in when they were allowed to be alone in a room by unsuspecting adults.

“Reeeemus!” Sirius called through the mirror, waking him up one late afternoon a few days after the full moon. “You lose. They _did_ write me back.”

“Who wrote you back?” Remus was trying to blink the sleep from his eyes.

“The Wizengamot!”

“The whizzy who now? It was too early in the day for Sirius particular brand of insanity. Well, too early for him.

“The Wizengamot,” he repeated. “Our letter demanding justice for oppressed teens everywhere. You have to remember.”

“Really?” he asked, his brain finally catching up with the conversation. “What did they say?”

“Dunno,” Sirius said. “I haven’t opened it yet. Pop over when you can. I want everyone here in my moment of triumph.”

“Sure, I’ll be over soon.” He promptly flopped back into bed for another hour of sleep.

Sirius was pacing around the living room when Remus flooed over.

“Took you long enough,” he grumbled, loud enough that only he could hear him.

Remus took his seat on the couch next to James, the Potters curled up on the love seat across from them.

“Alright, he’s here,” James said. “Now let’s get on with it.”

Sirius opened his mouth to bite back, probably something about Lily, but James avada glare shut him up.

He pasted on a victorious grin. “Yes, the moment you’ve all been waiting for.”

Dramatically opening the letter, he puffed himself to read the letter aloud.

“Here it comes,” James whispered from the side of his mouth.

“‘Mr. Black’, “he started. “‘we…”

He trailed off and his eyes darted back and forth.

After calmly folding the letter back up, Sirius pulled his wand from the jeans, cast a silencing charm on himself and shouted something that looked like “clucking bell.”

“What?” James asked. “What is it?”

Sirius handed him the letter and moment later, James burst out laughing and couldn’t be stopped for all the galleons in Gringotts. His last act before falling off the couch entirely was to pass the letter on to Remus.

_Mr. Black,_

_We regret to inform that it is not with in the purview of the Wizengamot to go against the wishes of a teen’s parents._

_We would like to help your further, but you are not yet of age and therefore too young to vote. We advise that you write us in one year’s time or when you come of age, whichever comes_ _first._

_Wishing you a cheery summer._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

“It’s not funny,” Sirius growled, even as the edges of Remus’ lips twitched as he passed the note onto the Potters.

“Pretty sure it is,” James chortled out. Even his parents were snickering.

“ Well, I guess this is as good as time as any,” Mrs Potter said.

The three boys looked up, Remus from the couch, James and Sirius from where they had their wands pointed at each other.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Potter said. “I kind of want to see this duel.”

“Oh, go on.” She swatted her husband softly on the arm.

“Fine,” he pouted. “Ruin my fun. Sirius, we’ve been talking it over and since you’ve been working so hard-that one week you were sick aside-we’ve decided to let you have the last two weeks off.”

“Really?!” Sirius looked as is Christmas had come early.

“Really. But,” Mr. Potter waggled his finger at him. “ _No_ nude beaches.”

“You sure you want to do this?” Remus asked.

They were sharing a towel on a beach Spain.

Sirius wasn’t paying attention to him, eyes fixed on the nude sunbathers passing by as he were trying to decide what to get from a buffet.

“We’ve come this far,” Sirius said, grinning from behind his sun glasses. “We’re not backing down now.”

“Yeah, but…”

“But what?” Sirius asked, finally tearing his eyes away.

“Well, people will see us.”

“Who cares?  Like I said, n o  one knows who we are here anyway.” He slid his hand around Remus head, and pulled him into a kiss.

“The only question is,  how long do we want to stay here?”

Quite awhile, it turned out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started life as another "new love" story, but it wasn't coming together the way I wanted. So, for a change, their together from the beginning. The story was more about having fun anyway. Who but Sirius would try to get a law protecting summer vacation.
> 
> The "clucking bell" joke comes from Blackadder Goes Forth.
> 
> My impromptu break left me a week behind. I'm going to try and sneak another chapter in somewhere to keep the 15, but no promises.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini (Hermione/Ron)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I could only stomach listening to this song a couple of times, but it was fun to write.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"- Bryan Hyland

Letting Ginny talk her into the trip in the first place was her first mistake, Hermione thought. In her defense, it had seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. Fresh off their victory over Voldemort-it felt so good to be able to say that name again without having to worry about Snatchers showing up- and with the whole summer ahead of them before she could sit for her last year of classes (she convince ron and Harry to join her yet.) Why not take some time off to relax and go lay on a beach somewhere?

Somehow that idea had to include a shopping trip to buy new swimsuits. As a “celebration”. Ginny had invited Luna and Susan to come along with them, so as not to be so outnumbered by the boys.

So Hermione found herself of sunny Tuesday afternoon waiting in Gladrags while the other three tried on all manner of swimsuits with all manner of spells on them, from simple water-repelling charms to ones Hermione thought bordered on inappropriate.

“You’re not just going to stand there, are you?” Ginny whined.

“I don’t need a new swimsuit.” And she didn’t. She’d bought one on her last trip to Frnace and it still fit.

“It’s not about _needing_ a new swimsuit, Hermione,” she said, looping both her arms around one of hers and dragging her off towards the back to join them. “It’s about getting one, because you can and you should.”

It wasn’t logic Hermione could understand. She like having nice things, yes. Her Yule Ball gown was proof of that if nothing else. But what was the point of buying clothes you didn’t need.

“But-”

“Hermione,” Ginny said sternly. “You’ve just saved the entire wizarding world. You deserve to treat yourself. Come on, it’ll be fun.

“ Hey, ladies,” she called over her shoulder. “Help me find Hermione a new swimsuit.”

Relenting, Hermione let herself be dragg ed off. It couldn’t hur t to just take a look, after all.

“No,” Hermione said, crossing her arms.

“Just try it on,” Ginny insisted, holding the hanger closer. As if she thought that was going to make her take it.

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s sexy.”

“It’s  _floss_ .”

Her friend’s had dropped their own searches in favor of helping her. Hermione was looking at the one piece, admiring a green one when Ginny had presented her with the two pieces of shoelaces they were jokingly calling a bikini.

It was yellow. And the small triangles of fabric that were evidently meant to cover up her bits-a task to great even for her modest proportions-had pink polka dots. Honestly, she had know idea how Ginny got it into her head that she would ever wear such a thing, even it had been decent.

Ginny scoffed. “You’re exaggerating. Plenty of girls wear these. There’s nothing wrong with it.

_Plenty of scarlet women, maybe_ _, s_ he almost  said .  She hated herself for that being her instinct. She wasn’t like that, shaming women for their clothing choices. Besides,  sounding like Mrs. Weasley would get her nowhere.

“Ginny, I can’t wear this. It’s humiliating. I’d die of embarrassment.”

“Can’t you just try it on.”

“What would be the point? I’m not buying it.”

Ginny huffed. 

“You don’t just try things on to buy them.” She said this as though she were explaining a painfully simple concept to someone painfully dense. “It’s about the experience.”

“I don’t think Gladrag’s-” she started.

“Oh, give it a go dear,” said the kindly witch who was running the shop that day. “Have a bit a fun.”

Hermione looked to Susan and Luna for  support.

Susan shrugged. “What could it hurt to see how it looks? Who knows maybe you’ll like it.”

“I agree,” Luna said in her normal airy voice. “Don’t let the bugrunts scramble your mind.”

Hermione resisted the urge to tell her there was no such thing as bugrunts. And, defeated, she slumped.

Snatching the hanger out of Ginny’s hand, triumphant grin on her face. “I’ll try it on,  then. Only to make you happy. But promise me when we’re done with this nonsense, you’ll actually help me pick something suitable.

“We promise.” Though Hermione didn’t quite trust the look the three of them shared between them.

She retreated to the safety of the changing room and, huffing, stripped down. Glaring one last time at the bikini, as it were fault Ginny was being a bitch and Luna and Susan had turned on her, she put it on.

She took a look at herself in a mirror.

Then, she took another look.

It wasn’t bad. There wasn’t much to it, but it stretched  more than she would have expected. And the color wasn’t bad. What had looked garish and tacky on the rack somehow come together on her body.

Maybe she could wear this. She always did want to do a better job at getting a tan. She was always just to busy to get around to it. Her mind flashed to visions of herself on the beach reading Proust and sunning herself and feeling every bit as confident as her friends always seemed to.

She turned around and grimaced. The back left more of herself exposed than she felt comfortable with, but maybe a little bit of spell work could help cover her up a bit more.

“Hermione,” Ginny called, loud enough that Hermione was sure that the entire bbloody alley could hear her, “quick admiring yourself in the mirror and let us see.”

 _Now_ _or never._

Hermione took one more moment to flatten everything and make sure she was properly covered, before stepping out.

She felt like a piece of meat under the stares of her friends for the few seconds they looked her up and down.

Ginny wolf whistled.

“You know, I think you’re actually right, Hermione,” she said. “I don’t think I want to compete with all that.”

She gestured at Hermione or, rather, her figure. “What do you think ladies.”

Luna was humming softly to herself, seemingly unaware of what was going on around. Susan put her finger to her cheek, pretending to think it over.

“ I don’t think I mind. So long as she keeps away from Neville, that is.” She crossed her arms and tried to stare Hermione down, erupting into a fit of giggles after only a few seconds. 

“ Har har,” Hermione said, “Can I change out of this ridiculous thing now.”

“No!” Ginny pleaded. “Come on, don’t be that way! Look, I’m sorry. You look great. You’ve got to wear it.”

“No, come on,” Hermione near whined. “ You promised. Help me pick  something I might actually wear.”

“But you’ll look incredible!”

“I will not-” she couldn’t make herself finish the lie. “I won’t feel comfortable in it.”

“ You just need a little more confidence. Come on, just think about it for a little bit. If you still don’t want it at the end we won’t buy it.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said, thinking that would be the end of it.

But now that the idea had been implanted in her mind, she couldn’t get it out. She tried swimsuit after swimsuit, but no matter how much she tried to like something- _anything-_ else, there was  some wrong with it. This one was too tight. That one was the wrong color. One was cheaply made. Another looked terrible.  Even other bikinis all fell short of whatever mark she was reaching for.  She was beginning to feel like Goldilocks. Or Mr. Ollivander after a particularly challenging match. Only without the thrill of the hunt. And after everyone tried, that wretched, trashy bikini called out to her from its place on the chair by the changing room.

Not that she’d admit to that to Ginny. Not for all the galleons in Gringotts. Not after all she’d done to talk them out.

Ginny seemed to see through her though. Grinning wide enough  that she could have given Gilderoy Lockhart a run for his money, “I can’t help notice that you have like any of these.”

She gestured her hand at the growing pile of discard swimsuits piled off to the side.

“Could it be that you’re denying that you’ve already tried the one you wanted?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Hermione snapped. She _had_ been thinking of a way she could buy it and still save face.

“Tell you what,” Ginny said. “if it will if we pretended that we forced  you into it, we’ll but it to a vote. All in favor of Hermione buy the bikini, raise your hand.”

Hermione knew she was lost when Ginny and the traitorous Susan immediately raised their hands, but Luna didn’t. She’d have to vote against it and if Luna voted with her, there’d be tie.

“Luna?” Ginny asked. “Are you paying attention?”

“Just thinking about my next article.”

“What you do you think of Hermione’s bikini?” Ginny pressed. All of them knew better than to ask her what she was writing about next.

“I think Hermione will regret it if she doesn’t  wear it.”

It might have been the truest thing she’d ever heard the girl say.

And so they walked out of the store bags in hand.

Hermione didn’t were the bikini in the days leading up to their day at the beach. She didn’t even look at it, save for the day she took it out to alter the bottoms. No matter what anyone said, she wasn’t going to flash her arse to half of Britain. And she definitely going to  go flouncing about with a string up her crack.

Aside from that, it had sat in bag in her  closet. She hadn’t even shown it to her parents. Any thrill she might have felt at buying something so scandalous had waned and now she was dreading wearing it at all.

When the day came to apparate to the Weasleys, she packed it carefully up in her beach bag-separate, of course, from her regular bag. The sensible thing, obviously, would be to wear it under her clothes so she could change easily. But she couldn’t even bring herself to do that.

She had to force herself not to bring her old one piece with her. It was the only thing  forcing her to wear the bikini. No backing out if she had no back up plan.

She arrived at the Burrow to find the place in it’s usual state of chaos as the Weasleys, Harry, the girls and Neville ran around trying to get everything packed into the Mr. Weasley’s new car, the blue Ford Prefect. She sighed. One day- _one day_ \- she’d teach them the benefits of a well-organized plan.

But it was a pleasant enough ride to the beach and the weather was perfect, with clear sky allowing the warm rays of the sun to shine down upon them and with a cool breeze to keep it from being too hot.

With the small army they had at their command, it only took one trip for them to unload the car. The boys immediately went to go swimming, while Ginny, Susan and Luna staked out their little corner of the beach.

Hermione looked around until she found the bathroom, a little stone building off in the distance.

“Well, don’t telling you’re backing out now,” Ginny said. She and the other two had already stripped down to their swimsuits.

“Of course not.”

“I just need to change.”

“Why didn’t you wear it under your clothes?”

Hermione didn’t have an answer, so she didn’t.

“I’ll be right back.”

Hermione took a deep breath. She was a proud, confident young woman. She wasn’t going to let any stop her from going out in her new bikini. She held her head up high. She could to this.

She looked down at herself and flushed.

She couldn’t do this.

“Hermione!” Ginny whined from the beach. “Hurry up!”

So much for the idea of staying in the bathroom for the rest of her life. Or apparating away.

There was only one thing to do. Hermione wrapped her towel around herself. It wasn’t much better. Instead of preserving her modesty, it made it look she’d just come out of the shower. She could just imagine the jeers of the boys.

She settled for draping it over herself like a shawl. At least it covered most of her.

“You’re no fun,” Ginny chided.

“Oh, leave her alone,” Susan said. “If she wants to be a prude, let her be a prude.”

“I’m not-” Hermione stopped when she realized how shrill she sounded. “I’m not a prude.”

“Whatever.”

The two girls, along with Luna, were sunning themselves on the beach. They seemed to have an unspoken agreement to pretend not to notice the peeks the boys were trying and failing to surreptitiously take at them. At least Ginny and Susan were. Luna might genuinely not have noticed. Hermione sat down cross-legged beside where they were laying. She felt silly.

“Not I think it’s a good idea to start agreeing with Ginny,” Susan started, earning a stuck out tongue from Ginny, “But are you really going sit like that all afternoon.”

“Of course not,” Hermion snapped. Her embarassment waning, at least enough for her logic to catch up with her, she actually had some thoughts on that. No one wrapped a towel around themselves out at the beach. Ergo, she looked stupid. But if she went swimming, she’d have an excuse to stay underwater and no one have to see her in that ridiculous get up.

_I’m never letting Ginny taking me shopping again._

“Where are you going?” Ginny asked, when she stood up.

“I’m going swimming,” she announced.

Ginny scrunched up her nose. “Suit yourself. The water’s cold.”

“The boys seem fine.”

“The boys are stupid.”

Ginny had her older brother’s same annoying talent for being right when it would be most convenient for him to be wrong. She didn’t know how the boys stood it.

It hadn’t been so bad when she first started out. In fact, it had almost been pleasant. But was boredom sunk in from swimming the same lap over and over again and the effort became too much, she’d opted to stand in the water. And she was starting to shiver.

She longed for her beautiful towel, lying abandoned on the beach. If you could just reach it, she could go back to join the others, defeated but warm. But every time she’d made up her mind to just go and do it, it seemed someone looked her way and she’d have to wave and pretend to be having the best time of her life.

“I think you made a tactical error,” Susan said, swimming up to her.

“How so?”

“Well, the water is too cold, isn’t it.”

“It’s fine,” Hermione said sullenly.

Susan rolled her eyes. “Please, Hermione. You’re turning blue. And you know how your girls react to the cold.”

It took a moment for Hermione to glom onto what Susan what saying. Her “girls”…?

“Crap.” She finally got it.

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to give those perverts even more a show, aren’t I?”

“Hey, now! Be fair! They’ve done a good job keeping their eyes to themselves. You know, for boys.” The edges of her lips twitched. “But yeah. Yeah, you are.”

“Crap.”

“Look, Hermione. Try not to worry about it. It’s no big deal.”

She swam back, leaving Hermione to her shivering.

When it finally became to much for her to stand, she made a mad dash for the beach, audience be damned. In her rushed, she failed to notice the person standing right in front of her.

“Oof!” She crashed in at full speed and very nearly fell over.

A hand caught her and saved her from humiliating herself further.

“Blimey, Hermione are you ok?” came the voice of Ron Weasley.

Perfect. Just bloody perfect. Of all the people to catch her, it had to be him.

She looked at him at, her arms twitching as went back and forth over whether or not she should trying and cover up.

_Don’t be stupid._

“I’m fine. Sorry.” She’d sound petulant. It wasn’t his fault she was in this mess. “I’m fine.”

“Er...here.” Ron handed her a bag.

“What is it?” She peaked in. It was her old, trusty one piece. She looked up her maybe-boyfriend. “Where did you get this?

Ron looked sheepish. “Well, I saw you were upset about something and talked to Ginny. Sorry about her by the way.

“Anyway, I thought you might be more comfortable with that, so I popped over to your parents place and told them you’d forgotten it. I hope that’s alright?”

She could have kissed him. A real kiss, not a moment of passion kiss down in the Chamber of Secrets

“Yes,” she yes. “It’s perfectly alright.”

“Oh. Ok, brilliant.” He smiled. “Look, come swimming us. We can plot a little revenge on my little sister.”

“Sounds good to me.” Between the three of them, assuming they could talk Harry into it, she didn’t stand a chance. “Just let me go change.”

Ron had been doing his best to keep his eyes further. But the announcement that she was changing made his eyes wandered south.

She coughed, bringing his attention back to her, and raised her eyebrow.

“Sorry!” He said very quickly and looking sheepish. “I just…”

She pushed him playfully. “Yeah, I know. Go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you.”

She walked back to the bathroom, acutely aware that his eyes were still on her, though she pretended not to notice.

_Not such an immature prat, after all._


	5. This is How We Do (Harry & Tonks)

"This is How We Do" -Katy Perry

Harry had always dreamed of being an auror, or at least ever since he’d first heard about it back in his forth year. But he hadn’t really intended to take on the job the minute Voldemort bought it.  
But, as new acting Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebot had so kindly explained to him, the death of Dark Lord didn’t mean the Death Eaters and the rest of his army of minions were all accounted for. And they had lost many, many aurors in the “final battle” (what good was it calling it that in a pitch for why Harry had to keep fighting”) leaving them short handed. And when that failed to get an immediate agreement from the Boy Who Lived, Savior of Wizarding Britain and Probably a Few Surrounding Countries, Kingsley had assured him that Harry-along with everyone else who fought-would have to go through the formality of auror training. They would be “allowed” to start fighting right away.  
And so, without so much of a weekend’s break, Harry’s life went from “Well done!” to “Break time’s over, back to work!”  
After the war, Harry had intended to take a couple of years off. Or at the very least, one year. Well, no matter. This just meant it was delayed a little bit. He’d help the Ministry round up the last of the Death Eaters, do his last little bit and then he’d go.

“Wotcher, Harry! Welcome to the aurors!” Tonks said when Harry walked into the aurors’ office his first day on the job.  
“Hey, Tonks.” He hadn’t expected to see her there. After her dad’s death, he expected her to pull back from her auror duties.  
Jumping up, she putting her arm around him and started leading him off through one of the doors. “Let me show you around.”  
Apparently not.  
“Er...I’m supposed to see someone. Robbards?”  
Tonks waved him off. “He can wait. Especially on you. Come on.”  
“Let him at least get hired before you corrupt him,” snapped a wizard, one of the aurors that had tried and failed to arrest Dumbledore back in his fifth year.  
“Don’t pout. Ignore him Harry. Dawlish is always a stick in the mud.”  
“See if I lend you money next game then.”  
Harry allowed himself to be dragged from the room.  
“Are you ok, Tonks? You know, after...everything?” He finished lamely.  
“Not really,” she admitted. “But I’m getting there.”  
There was more to auror department than Harry would have guessed. Aside from the common area, there were offices with two or three desks each, several interrogation rooms, a great room that Tonks said was used for big cases when the aurors weren’t busy skivving off work and even several training gyms for both physical fitness and dueling.  
“And this is Robbard’s office,” Tonks said, presenting Harry to the aging, bearded wizard. “He acts grumpy, but don’t let him fool you. He’s alright.”  
“Oh, you’re reason he’s late,” he grumbled, almost to himself. “I should have know. Damn it, Tonks, I told you to let me talk to him before you and Cadwaldr corrupted him.”  
“Just me, sir. Cadwaldr’s off working a case.”  
“Well, then I suggest you go join him.” The threat was evident in his tone and even Tonks beat a hasty retreat, though still grinning as she did.  
Truth be told, Robbards didn’t have much to tell him that Tonks already hadn’t, only that he’d be working with more senior aurors on a floating basis until he was assigned a partner of his own.  
“And are we working any active cases now, sir?” He could tell by the man’s reaction that it hadn’t been the most intelligent question anyone had ever asked in the history of magic.  
“More than I can begin to count. We’re working on sorting out the Death Eaters from the people who were just Imperiused. If you report to Bond and Windsor, they’ll get you started. They should be down in one of the interrogation rooms, I think.”  
“Bond, sir?”  
“You were raised by muggles, weren’t you?”  
“Yes…”  
“Not that Bond,” Robards confirmed. “Though she enjoys the comparison. Offer her a martini is she ever seems like she’s in a bad mood.  
Harry privately thought he might let somebody else try that one first. Just to be safe.  
Bond, a dark-haired witch with an eye patch and a pony tail, and Windsor, a red haired wizard with a regal streak about him, put him to work taking notes with a quill that gave him horrible flashback to Rita Skeeter. At least the quill seemed to take out exact quotes.  
The aurors rotated in and out soon Harry had met most of the ones he’d be working withing. John Dawlish and Hawkes Hawlish, Proudfoot and Savage. Even Tonks and her partner Cadwaldr were in at one point.  
“Well done, lad,” Cadwaldr said, taking the quill from him. “But that’s us.”  
“You don’t have plans tonight, do you Harry?” Tonks asked.  
“Sleep?”  
“You can sleep when you’re dead. Want to go drinking with us? A few of us are going to the Witch’s Tit.”  
“The auror bar,” Cadwaldr explained. “You’ll like it. The beer’s flat, but the barmaid’s not.”  
Harry snorted. “Sure, I can spare a couple of hours.”

The minute Harry walked in the door, he knew it was going to be considerably more than “a couple of hours.” It seemed as if the entire auror corp had assembled to decimate the Witch’s Tit supply of booze. Tonks and Cadwaldr led him to a table with Bond, Windsor and the pair of partners Harry learned were called the Awlishes.  
“You’re a v-” Tonks started, but Cadwaldr cut her off.  
“Be nice to the poor boy,” he said. “His fan club might here.”  
Indeed, a group of witches were staring at their table, whispering and giggling to each other whenever one of the aurors so much as glanced their way.  
“You never know. It work out in his favor. Just think, the chance to be the first with Harry Potter.”  
“Whatever you think you’re talking about,” Harry cut in, “I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”  
Tonks and Cadwaldr shared a look and a grin.   
“A story you will tell us later.” She turned and huffed at her partner. “Fine. Harry since you’re new, drinks are on us.”  
She put her arm around Harry’s shoulder. “And, please, do not be shy.”  
Harry had only had butter and half a bottle of firewhiskey shared between him and Ron.  
“Whatever you recommend.”  
“He said, last wordsingly,” said Bond.  
Harry let Tonks order for him, despite Bond’s teasing, and mercifully she’d started him off easy. The seven toasted Harry’s first day on the job. Then they ordered another round.  
And another.  
And another. Harry had well and truly lost track of how much alcohol he’d drank trying to keep with the aurors. That might have been the biggest mistake in life. One of them, anyway.  
He managed to not have to crawl as he brain did a loop-di-loop around the room, though there was more near misses. How on God’s green earth had he let himself be talked into this.

“Wotcher, Harry!” Tonks said brightly the next morning, clapping him on the back and nearly making him lose his lunch, along with everything else he’d eaten in the last month.  
“Please, Tonks,” he said, Holding up a hand. “Have some respecting for the dying.  
Hawlish, who was sitting nearby thumbing through the paper, burst out cackling.  
“You’re not dying,” Tonks said with a roll of her eyes.  
“I’m hoping to.”  
He went to find Robbards who put him to work sorting through the reports they’d gotten and told to find an empty desk to do it on. He chose one in of the back offices, hoping not to be disturbed.  
“There’s are lad,” Tonks said, coming in with Cadwaldr and a box.  
“Still with us?” Cadwaldr asked.  
“For the moment.” He still have a pounding headache and he was debating whether he could away with conjuring a pair of sunglasses.  
I did kill Voldemort, after all. Screw it. He did it and got instant relief. Was it also this bright?  
“I made you breakfast,” Tonks said, offering him the box.  
Wafting from it was the smell of pancakes that would have rivaled Molly Weasley and any other day he would have taken them gladly. Today…  
“Go on, give them a try.”  
Tentatively, reluctantly, he took a bite and instantly felt better. There was something slightly off about the syrup, but other than that. And every bite made his hangover back off a bit more.  
“Tonks…”  
“Told you,” she said smugly. “Made it myself. Nothing for a hangover like pancakes.”  
“She’d might have also mixed in some hangover potion in with the syrup.”  
“That too.”  
“Thanks, Tonks,” Harry said. “I didn’t know you could cook.”  
“I can cook!”  
“Not without casualties, mind,” Cadwaldr added, earning himself a shove from his partner.  
“I’m just little accident.”  
Cadwaldr giggled. “Remember the time you forgot the milk.”  
Tonks glared at him. “Not. Another. Word.  
“So, Harry,” she said, turning back to him, “What have they got you working on today?”  
Harry showed her papers. “Got to sort through these.”  
Tonks wrinkled her nose and even Cadwaldr had a pained expression on his face.  
“Not exactly the kind of thing you signed up for. Bit boring, I’ll bet, after fighting the great tosser.  
“Really, I don’t mind.” Anything was better than that being out there in it again.  
“You don’t have to put on a brave front for us,” Cadwaldr said.  
“Yeah. We’ve got to do more interrogations to do, but we’ll come rescue as soon as we can.”

Harry did get a good break out of the madness. And while he would never admit it to Hermione, not for all the galleons in Gringotts, there was something relaxing about doing paperwork.  
“About done, Harry?” Tonks asked, popping her head in. “Haven’t gone barmy from the tedium yet? Only I’ve got St. Mungo’s on the fireplace if you have. They’ve got a nice bed for you right next to Lockhart.”  
“Just a couple more,” Harry said, rolling his eyes.  
“Bril! Meet us in the war room as soon as you can, it’s urgent.”  
Suspicious though he was of Tonks’ idea of “urgent”, he finished up his assignment, sending them off to Records.   
Getting up, he glanced at the clock. He’d be at it for a lot longer than he’d thought and he was due for a break. Traditional hours had been somewhat eschewed given the current “crisis”. Sleep when you can, eat when you can, work when you can. Sneaking away for a few drinks like they had night before was frowned upon, but not explicitly forbidden.  
The aurors on duty-or at least the ones Tonks and, he suspected, Cadwaldr-had drummed up-were crowded around the large, round wooden table someone had told him came from Camelot. On it, someone had conjured a mini-net and on either side of it was Bonds and Hawlish.  
“Harry!” Tonks called, siddling up to him and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Glad you could make it. Want to get in on this? We’re having a poll on who wins.”  
“What are they playing?”  
“Ping pong. Robbards said we weren’t allowed to settle arguments by jousting anymore.”  
Harry raised an eyebrow. “‘Jousting’?”  
“It’s a long story. So do you want in. Smart money’s on Hawlish, just because he plays with himself a lot.” Harry let that one go. “But Bond’s really riled up about this one.”  
“What are they arguing about?”  
“I mean, really they just don’t like each other. Today, though? I think it was about some serial they were listening to.  
Harry but two galleons on Bond, simply to have the fun of rooting against Tonks’ chosen player. The two aurors made a good show of it-and Harry believed at least part of their fighting was show. Hawlish did genuinely seem to want to deck her until the aurors pulled them off each other. Whatever the case, Harry walked away from the game a little poorer, but amused.  
“Walk you home, Harry?” Tonks asked.   
Harry yawned. It was getting late.  
“I was just going to apparate.  
“Are you sure? It’s such a nice night.”  
She looked up at him and Harry just couldn’t say no.”  
“Alright, then. Just let me get my coat.”  
“Bad idea, mate,” Cadwaldr said, not looking up as he cleared away the last of the mess with a flick of his wand. “Letting her now she can just bat her eyelashes at you and get whatever she wants. Ow! Oi!”  
Harry didn’t catch what happened, he was already at the door when it happened, but he had the distinct impression that Tonks had thrown something at him.  
It was a warm summer night as they walked back towards Grimmauld Place.  
“Didn’t think you’d still live there, to be honest. Thought you’d have sold it or burned it.”  
“I thought about it.” Hermione and Ron-mostly Hermione, to be honest- had had a long conversation with him on the subject and how it wouldn’t look good. But as far as Harry was concerned, he killed Voldemort and could live where the hell he bloody well liked.  
“I probably will get a flat eventually,” he said. “But it’s too much bother right now.”  
The manor had long since had the last vestiges of the Fidelius charm removed from the place, but it still had the muggle repelling and notice me not charms on it, giving Harry a welcome bit of privacy.  
“Well, here we are.” He said, stopping at the front door.  
“Here we are,” she said. They lingered. Smiling at each other.  
“Do you want to come in?” Harry asked. “Take a look around the old place for old time’s sake.”  
“Love to.”  
Harry dug up some coffee and the two of them sat in the living room.  
“I like what you’ve done with the place,” she said. “Surprised Kreacher let you change anything on it.”  
“He came around.” As much he loved Sirius, harry had come to realize that he’d been partly to blame for what had happened. Not that he would say that out loud to the auror and ex-Order member who still idolized her cousin.  
“Merlin, I miss him,” wass all she had to say on the subject.  
“Say Tonks,” Harry said, casting about for a cheerier subject. “Why did you join the aurors?”  
That made her smile.  
“Well, there’s not much to that story, really. My parents were never formally part of the Order, but they helped out where they could. I grew up hearing stories of how their friends fought in this battle or saved that village from a giant raid.” She shrugged. “I just want to get in on a bit of the action.”  
“And did you?” Harry asked, letting his coffee go cold as he listened to her with rapt attention.  
“A bit, yeah. Not so much that I didn’t have to join the Order to get a few more thrills.” She winked at him. “It’s like this, Harry. Only ten percent of the job is really that exciting. The other ninety percent of it is pure boredom. That’s why we have to entertain ourselves while we can.”  
“Like having a ping pong match or playing poker.”  
“Or sometime jousting,” Tonks agreed, nodding, “though Robbards said we weren’t allowed to do that anymore. It’s somewhat performative, you know? Wizards like to show and we sort of like to see who can top the others with the best idea.”  
“Robbards seems to let you get away with a lot.”  
“Well, he was an auror too. We’re not doing anything he hasn’t already done. “ She grinned. “Get him drunk one of these nights and he’ll start bragging about how we’re all muggles compared to what Scrimgeour and him used to get up to back in the day.”  
Harry mulled that over. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, sticking around with them.  
“Are you happy, Tonks?”  
She looked taken aback to even be asked such a question.  
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d say so.” She smiled. “Good question. I like it.”  
“It’s something I think about it.”  
“Yeah, I suppose you would.”  
They talked long into the night, to the point that it would have been silly for Tonk to go back to her flat. So Harry had Kreacher prep a guest room for her.  
“Not worried about rumors, are you Harry?” Tonks the next morning. They were sitting at the table trying not to fall asleep in whatever Kreacher had made for them. He wasn’t quite sure as even his taste buds hadn’t woke up.  
“Eh?” Harry asked. He’d been drinking the strongest, most caffeinated coffee known to wizardkind, wondering idly if he have caffeine injected into his blood stream directly.  
“Well, we were seen leaving together and we’ll be seen walking in together. There’s going to be talk.”  
“There won’t be any talk,” he said, not even convincing himself as he tried and failed to stare down Tonks’ own and her raised eyebrow.   
“Harry, they’ll be a betting by the end of the day.” He voice sounded grave, but her were eyes were twinkling to a degree that would have put Dumbledore to shame. He could have read a book by them.  
Fine. He could play along. He was, after all, one of them now.   
“Maybe there’s a way to make some gold off of this. Get Cadwaldr to make it a betting pool. Then you disguise yourself as some random intern place a bet for it.”  
“Yeah. And you’ll stake me, Mr. Galleon Bags?”  
“I think I might have a pieces of gold stashed away somewhere, yeah.”  
Their serious facade broke down and they fell to the floor giggling.  
“Come on,” Harry said, getting to his feet and helping Tonks to her own. “We’re going to be late.”  
They were still giggling at their joke when they walked into the auror offices. True to Tonks’ word, they were forced to endure the looks and the needling from the others in the office, though Harry expected that was because they were still hand in hand when they walked in.  
“What’s on the plan for today?” Harry asked. All aurors on duty had been called into the war room.  
“Well,” Cadwaldr said as Robbards openned his moth, “we’ve got another of bets to settling. Hawlish, you said something about walking into-”  
Robbards shut him up by rolling up the parchment he was reading from and smacking him upside the head.  
“As I was saying,” he continued as Cadwaldr rubber the back of his head. “We’ve actually got get out of the office today. We’ve got reliable intelligence that the a group of snatchers are holed up in Dublin. We’re going to go and get them.  
“Do we have jurisdiction in Ireland,” Harry whispered to Tonks.  
“The split was strictly muggle,” she explained.  
“Does that mean the British empire still exists?”  
“Potter, Tonks!” Robbards barked. “Can keep your focus, please?”  
“Sorry, sir!” they said in unison.  
“That’s not going to get annoying at all,” Bond mumbled.  
“We expect this to be a simple in and out, but I want you all to be prepared for heavy resistance. Be careful and come back alive. And remember,” the corners of his lips twitched, “for Moody. Constant vigilance.”  
It had been a simple in and out. The snatchers being holed up consisting of them drinking in a bar and trading racist jokes. No one so much as raised a wand when they aurors stormed in. No one so much as ran and they were back by lunch.  
The bet Cadwaldr had been referring to had be Hawlish saying he could walk into the cantina buck naked and no one would notice.  
That night, drinks were on the winners of the bet, as was custom among the aurors, they’d explained to Harry. No matter what happened during the day, the aurors never seemed to run out of ideas. The next night it was karaoke and they were treated to round after round of very bad duets from each of the partners. Harry, in a bit of convincing that would have made even Snape proud of him, got out of it because he was a floater. He did have to promise that he come back and “face his judgment.”  
Another night, the rest of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had to spend all night hunting across Britain for the things that had been hidden for them, mostly in pubs.  
The peacefulness of the work began to wear on him, and while Harry began to look forward to what Tonks had called the ten percent of excitement, he honestly could have taken or left it. He began to live for whatever the bored auror corps came up with to amuse themselves.  
Well, that and Tonks. Still a floater, Harry had been inducted as the honorary third partner to Tonks and Cadwadlr, going on them on their mission and, more importantly, assisting them in their schemes.

“You don’t really want to be an auror, do you Harry.” Tonks said. It wasn’t really a question.  
They were sitting on their pier eating fish and chips watching as Proudfoot and Savage had a contest to see who could get the most pictures of themselves with a seagull, no magic allowed.  
“It’s not that. It’s just…” Even though he’d been expecting this conversation to come up sooner or later, he hadn’t been prepared to answer.  
“What?”  
Harry took a deep breath. “It’s more that I don’t what I want any more. I really just wanted a break. Doge-you know him?-he told me once that it used to be a tradition for wizards to take a year off to explore. I wouldn’t hate that, you know.”  
“I can see that,” Tonks said nodding. “But if that’s what you want to, why did you sign on with the aurors. Why didn’t you tell them all to take a hike?”  
“Because…” he trailed off. He grumbled, “Kingsley convinced me that we needed to take out the last of the Death Eaters.”  
“And instead you got stuck with us. “Look,” she said, “I’m not going to pretend we’re going to stop goofing off, but I don’t want you to think we’re not taking this seriously. We just need to unwind sometimes. You know what I mean.”  
“Yeah, I get what you mean.” He smiled at her. “That actually helps.”  
“Good. Now, come on. We talked Dawlish and Windsor into a broom race.”   
“And we’re betting on with one of them wins.”  
Tonks shook her head. “One of them is definitely getting fired this time. We’re betting on who.”  
Harry groaned, as he followed her to her next round of insanity. “I’m never going to get out of this, am I?”  
“This is how we do, Harry,” Tonks said, kissing him on the cheek. “This is how we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back when I was first discovering the Harry Potter fan community, Harry/Tonks was my 'ship of choice. It was the subject of my first completed fanfiction, so I decided to give it a go again here. I think I might have gone to far into the aurors madness and strayed into Manic Pixie Dream Girl territory. Chalk it up to a learning experience.
> 
> Cadwaldr, Bond and Windsor are aurors I've developed (with varying basis in canon) that I use in fiction. Hawkes Hawlish was named in a draft of one of the movies, but is likewise in the same group. As is my practice to reuse characters, you can find them all over in Love and War. (The same is true for certain noodle incidents such as the jousting incident. That one actually exists in and incomplete fic that I will probably finish after Love and War wraps up).
> 
> I was watching M*A*S*H while I was writing this. Hawlishes bet is based on something Hawkeye tries and the general attitude towards boredom owes a lot to that show as well.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I realized as I finished this that it might be a bit dark to have it framed around Fleur's wedding. Like I said above, this is meant to be lighthearted for now, so I wouldn't dwell on canon too much.
> 
> The school store is something my friend thought existed when we were planning a fic about 10 years ago. I don't think there's any basis for it in canon, but I think it probably exist. Students have to buy their school supplies somewhere (that might be my American showing).
> 
> Once again, we get a reference to Scarlett Parkinson. For as much as I reference her, I still put her on screen publicly sometime.
> 
> I was originally going to use Llangennith beach itself, but decided I didn't want to get details wrong. So it's just near there instead.
> 
> Aside from the aforementioned song, while "somebody up there likes me" is a common phrase, in this case it was a willful, deliberate and premeditated reference to a David Bowie song of the same name. The phrase "late September" may have subconsciously inspired by "Maggie May", by Rod Stewart.
> 
> I'm looking forward to next week, as I'm still not sure what it's going to be yet.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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